Empty Spaces (on temporary hiatus!)
by Swiftshadow2000
Summary: Blood. It's what this world revolves around. Mercy. Another way of saying 'not strong enough.' Love. Something that only weak things have. Hollow. It's what I feel inside.
1. Chapter 1

-**_Prologue_**

A gray she-cat lay sprawled on the ground, breathing heavily. Contractions rippled through her fur, and the tom that was placing a paw on her belly was clearly worried. Two other small bodies were placed carefully beside him, but he tried not to look at them, as they were unmoving and lifeless. It was silent, the only noise being the trees rustling softly outside the den and the murmurs of anxious cats, which sounded all the same. He'd asked all other cats, including a queen with two two-moon-olds, to leave when his patient began to have problems.

That had been an hour ago.

A small black-and-white tom broke the silence, stepping forward to his mentor, who was concentrating deeply. " Redwing? Is… is she okay? Does she need some more herbs?"

Redwing shook his calico head, saying softly, " No. Her life and her kit's are in StarClan's paws now."

Glancing at his mentor, the apprentice sat back down. The gray she-cat wheezed pitifully.

" It's okay, Silverwhisker. Everything's going to turn out fine… you're doing great." His voice was strong but his eyes shone with doubt. Normal kittings never took this long, and she was bleeding dangerously fast. He stiffened as she clamped her jaws shut and closed her eyes tight; the third kit was coming.

She managed to crack her mouth open, and Patchpaw bounded forward to slipped a stick between her jaws. It cracked, then snapped in half as the last kit slipped out, Redwing licking its fur the wrong way to give it its first breath, then he gently picked it up and carried it in front of its mother. Silverwhisker gazed at it, then quietly asked, " Is... is it alive...?"

" Yes, a healthy she-kit… she's very beautiful."

She nodded weakly in agreement, stroking the little she-kit with her tongue. She was gray with darker dapples, tan ears and a small tan tuft of fur on her chest, and when the moonlight hit her gray fur through the swaying covering of the den, it shone silver like her mother's.

" What are you going to name her?" Redwing crouched down next to his friend, who was still cleaning her only daughter.

" Her fur reminds me of the moon… Moonkit." Silverwhisker breathed out the name, drawing her tongue back into her mouth. Her eyes drooped.

" I'll name her Moonkit…" Her body relaxed and Redwing sprang up, eyes wide, then sighed, defeated. Patchpaw stared at the mother in shock. " Redwing!? What- is she sleeping? Tell me she's asleep; please tell me she's asleep!"

Bowing his head, Redwing silently said farewell to his friend. He'd known Silverwhisker since they were kits; they'd played together and were apprenticed together. Of course, as a medicine cat, he'd had his warrior ceremony at the Glowing Rocks, a small waterfall inside a cave with strange, glowing moss, but she'd congratulated and helped him go over various herbs and their cures after he'd returned.

After a moment Patchpaw did the same.

The kit- Moonkit- mewed, crawling forward to place her head on her mother, nuzzling into her fur. Opening his glazed eyes, Redwing bent down and rubbed his muzzle across the kit's fur, breathing out and ruffling her soft fur ever so slightly.

" Patchpaw... bring in Hayfur, Rowanfur and Honeytuft."

Patchpaw blinked solemnly, then trudged out of the den, returning a few seconds later with the queen and two toms.

Rowanfur, upon entering, raced to his dead mate and wailed while Honeytuft and Hayfur simply stared, stunned.

" Redwing… what… what happened!?" Hayfur gasped, shielding her own two kits, Hazelkit and Heavykit, with her stringy-furred tail.

" Two stillbirths… only one survived… the kitting went wrong. I'm sorry, Rowanfur, there was nothing I could do, you know I would've if I could." The gray-and-tan tom nodded, then turned to his kit, who was trying to bite him weakly.

" Hayfur… you're the only queen still producing milk, and it's not like she's a stranger to you."

The dark tan she-cat nodded; Rowanfur was her brother.

" Did… did she name her…?" Rowanfur asked, turning to the medicine cat sadly. He nodded, then said,

" Her name is Moonkit, because of her fur colors. She… she's a very beautiful kit, Rowanfur."

He turned to his sister, and she met his green eyes somewhat reluctantly, not wanting to see her brother so depressed. " Hayfur? Will you nurse my kit? Please, you can stop as soon as she's ready-"

" No, no, Rowanfur… she's my niece, of _course_ I will. I'll love her like my very own. Honeytuft?" She turned to her mate, who was gazing at the small kit approvingly. He nodded in consent, and Hayfur got up and delicately trotted over to Moonkit, trying her best to avoid Silverwhisker, and swept her up in her tail. Laying down, she directed all of her kits to her belly, Hazelkit and Heavykit sniffing the new addition cautiously, then, confirming she was safe, made room for her to nourish herself.

" Thank you, Hayfur, Honeytuft… I really appreciate it," Rowanfur said, Honeytuft replying " No problem, we'll always welcome new additions. Besides… she needs a mother."

Noticing Hayfur glancing at Silverwhisker's body repeatedly, Rowanfur offered " Do you want me to move her? She needs to be set up for vigil, anyways. I won't mind."

Hayfur nodded slightly, and Honeytuft, Redwing and Rowanfur smoothly lifted Silverwhisker, carrying her out to the dark clearing, cats moving aside in surprise and bowing their heads in respect. Silverwhisker was a very sweet cat, saying hello to everyone nearly every morning unless she had to go out on dawn patrol. She was a great friend to many, even the leader, Mintstar, who was bowing her head as well, clearly surprising some, for they were glancing at her.

As they lay her down, a cat started to yowl mournfully. Then another, and another, till the air was filled with the voices of her friends, loud enough for the other Clans, MistClan and StoneClan, to hear their low howls carried by the cold breeze of the mountain they had made their camp at the bottom of.

In the den, Hayfur watched with a spark of amusement as Moonkit twitched her ears, even though she knew she wouldn't be able to sense sound for several weeks.

The tan she-cat's eyes glowed anyways.

" You hear that, Moonkit?" She said softly, catching glimpses of the stars from the lightly moving covering of the cave.

" They're your Clanmates. They'll always be there for you, no matter what, just like I'll always be here for you."

She tittered as Moonkit squeaked in reply.

Outside, the stars glittered brightly, and the moon shone with pearly silver light, outlining the trees and illuminating the grassy area dimly.


	2. Awakening

I opened my blurry eyes to a paw poking me in the face, and I stared into the green eyes of a small tom. I yelped, surprised, and fell over something.

I heard laughing in the background and desperately tried to heave myself up, but my rump was still in the air and I couldn't really move. A huge nose sniffed at me, then grabbed my scruff and lifted me up. I gasped; it felt like I could see the whole world! I squinted, trying to see through the mossy-stuff covering the den, but the thing set me down and started licking me before I could.

I swatted away the pink, slobbery thing and looked up, straining my neck.

My eyes were wide as the tan-colored creature started to talk.

" Hello, little one. Welcome to the world; I'm Hayfur, your… mother." She glanced at something in the corner, and I was taken aback again to see another cat step out from the shadows. Two, actually.

One was staring at me curiously while the other looked happy to see me.

" Those are your… um, fathers?"

The golden one turned to the gray one looking at me joyfully and he said, " Go ahead… she can know. She'll find out sometime or another."

My mother bent down and licked my cheek.

" Moonkit-that's your name-… your real mother died when you were born. She isn't coming back, but she's in a better place now. Your father, Rowanfur, the gray one over there, is your real father and my brother. He asked me, your aunt, to be your fostor mother. The golden one is my mate and your uncle."

I blinked, trying to take in all this new information. As far as I knew, the tan one was still my mother, and I made that clear.

" Mom." I nuzzled into her and she huffed with laughter.

" Would you like to meet your brothers, then, Moonkit?" She asked, and I nodded eagerly.

The tom that had poked me awake popped his head over mom's arm and meowed, " _Heavykit_! Moonkit's awake, finally!" Another one- Heavykit- barreled into mom, and she swayed.

" Moonkit, these are your brothers. The loudmouth is Hazelkit and the headstrong one is Heavykit." She shooed Heavykit away towards me and they sniffed me, then yelled into my ears, " CAN YOU HEAR YET?" Hayfur swatted Hazelkit's ear and he ducked as I flinched away.

" YES, I CAN HEAR, THANK YOU." I yowled back. I turned my head as I caught sight of movement to my right. The golden tom, Hayfur's mate, was leaning over to whisper into my father's ear. Straining to hear them, I could make out, " _… eyes are blue!... no one related to… has blue eyes….. sign?"_

Rowanfur shook his head, though looking doubtful, but Hayfur lead us out of the den before I could hear any more. I gazed around the clearing, thinking, _So this is what the 'outside' looks like… it's so beautiful…_ I followed Hazelkit and Heavykit out into the middle of the clearing, cats stopping to stare at me for a few moments before either hurrying to murmur to their friends or shaking their heads quickly and trotting away. Wondering why they seemed so startled, I slowed and caught the eyes of a large she-cat following my movements. Her eyes, too, flashed with confusion, and I picked up my pace, scared, nearly crashing into Hazelkit.

He looked at me quizzically before noticing why there was fear in my eyes. He brushed past my ear and whispered, " Oh, them? Don't worry about them, they're just… surprised to see you."

I nodded, only half believing him, and tried to ignore the strange looks burning into my fur.

" Come on, Moonkit! _Let's try to raid the Medicine Den_!" He whisper-yelled, disappearing into the bushes.

I followed, looking back once, then allowing the leaves to swallow my small body.

There was a narrow path, and as Heavykit's tail whisked around the corner, I sprinted forward to catch up with them. I skidded to a stop centimeters from his face as he shushed me, then we creeped silently into the medicine den. Hazelkit was already in, inspecting the berries and herbs.

" Hazelkit… are you sure this is safe?" I squeaked, walking up to him slowly while Heavykit joined him.

He laughed. " Of course not! This is probably the most dangerous thing a kit could do!" He tittered as he shoved some black seeds he was sniffing at into his mouth.

" Ooh… I feel sleepy…" He laughed again and Heavykit cuffed him while I stared at him, horrified.

" I don't think-"

Something huge and snarling burst into the den, eyes blazing, and I nearly had a heart attack as Heavykit instinctively grabbed Hazelkit and dragged him back.

" _**What are you doing**_!?" An angry, ruffled-pelted tom yowled, his wild eyes narrowed to slits.

" W-we were just playing-"

He snarled in my brother's face and he shrank into his pelt, terrified.

He turned to me, claws unsheathing. My eyes widened even more, if possible, and narrowed to tiny black needle points.

" _**Born of death, born of light, the stars refuse to shine tonight… a dark red trail ahead, she will march the path that others dread… a cold soul inside, a place where a black heart resides will solely fall to the claw…**" _

His arm raised suddenly, claws fully extended to the point of skin, and I braced myself before a voice screeched,

" _**Smokefoot**_! What are you doing to my kit!?" He turned, then desperately tried to crash his huge black paw on me but the golden tom tackled him before he could.

" Honeytuft, that kit is a curse from the Dark Forest itself! She must be kil-"

Honeytuft pressed the crazed tom's throat with his paw and called to Rowanfur and Hayfur. Redwing and Patchleaf tagged along and assisted in carrying the flailing gray tom to the clearing.

Hayfur, seeing me shaking hysterically, sprinted over and tried to coax me into calmness, but I tore away from her, bolting as fast as I could back to the nursery, unable to block out Smokefoot's cries that seemed to echo in my mind,

" Monster! Beast! She must be killed! A demon from the darkest places of the skies! _Murderer!"_


	3. The River

" From this day forward until you earn your warrior names, you shall be known as Hazelpaw, Heavypaw and Moonpaw."

The Clan cheered for us, and I fluffed out my fur in pride. Hayfur and my father looked overjoyed and Honeytuft's eyes glowed for us. My mentor was Pebblepelt, a kind she-cat, Hazelpaw's was Nutfall and Heavypaw's was Sagefur. I beamed in delight, my brothers pressing up against me in joy. Hazelpaw and Heavypaw had put off their own ceremonies for two moons- _two moons_!- so they could have theirs with me.

" Hazelpaw! Heavypaw! Moonpaw! Hazelpaw! Heavypaw! Moonpaw!" Mintstar's green eyes were shining, as she was happy to have more apprentices in our Clan. Hayfur, Rowanfur and Honeytuft sprinted up to us, ecstatic.

After talking for a few minutes, our mentors agreed to allow us to explore the territory.

" Hear that, Hazelpaw? Now we don't have to sneak out-!" Hazelpaw slapped a paw over Heavypaw's face and laughed nervously up at Nutfall, who was looking at him with a '_Really?'_ face.

" Hazelpaw, I heard there's an awesome river over that way," I offered, and he nodded, gazing at our mentors for approval. They motioned for us to go, and we ran out of camp with them following us.

I stared around, amazed that we could finally see our territory in daylight. It was beautiful, the canopy above us creating light dapples on the ground under my paws and causing my eyes to glow.

My eyes. They were a strange subject to speak of, and I constantly wondered about them. Why were they blue instead of green or yellow, amber even? The Clan always whispered about them behind my back, but I had sharp ears, I could hear what they were saying. They often spoke of underdevelopment, but they questioned how only my eyes could've been affected by it. After all, my siblings were stillborn, as Hayfur had explained to me one day when I asked about what she had said to me the first day my icy blue eyes opened. For a while they'd watched me, trying to catch anything to support the theory of underdevelopment. Maybe a limp, a twitch, a seizure, _something_.

But no.

Nothing.

Not even a muscle ripple to suggest that there was anything further wrong with me. It puzzled many, not even my family was spared of the confusion.

Deep in my thoughts, I realized I had been ignoring the roaring and the yowls. I turned, " What're you yelling a-" The rocks below me gave way, and Pebblepelt bolted forward, but it was too late. I tumbled into the surging river, screeching.

" _Moonpaw_!" She shouted, leaping in with me. I frantically fought the current, the white spray of the mist clouding my vision and I flailed blindly.

Coughing, I yelled " Help me! Help m-" I went under. The water swirled around me as I desperately tried to kick myself back towards the surface again. After a moment I was too exhausted to fight the current any longer. I sank, my breath bubbles floating quickly upwards. Relaxing, I focused on the bottom. It felt nice, the water was cool and the underwater plans swayed, small fish swimming away as they caught sight of me.

It was a pulchritudinous scene, the sapphire of the waters fractured by the light gleaming through and the sage-colored seaweed on the ground creating a feeling of equilibrium. I spread my limbs slightly, and I was gently floating towards the grass patches when I felt teeth snatch my neck and haul me up.

_Bu I was just about to touch the pretty grass…_ I thought sadly, then all at once I felt the spray of the river and I could breathe again. I gasped for air, not realizing before how my lungs felt like fire. Pebblepelt huffed heavily through my scruff and I was handed over to Sagefur and Nutfall, who were waiting at the shore. My brothers grabbed Pebblepelt and pulled her up as well. Bone-weary, she struggled over to me, but my vision was blurry and darkening.

" _Moonpaw… get her to th… dicine den! Losing consciousness…" _

I tried to shake my head but I felt light-headed and dizzy. I coughed, water spurting out, and I could feel myself being dragged hastily. One last thought ran through my mind:

_Maybe next time I can try to touch the pretty fish…_

Then everything went black.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Sorry for the short chapter, guys! I'll try to make the next one longer, I promise! Thanks to all reviewers, and happy hunting!**

**-Swifty.**


	4. Killer in Camp

**A/N: Since the subject has been brought up multiple times, I've decided to address it here. I know about my issue with quotation marks; the space is instinctual and helps me write it/check the story better. I don't know why, it's a habit. Enjoy!**

Despite my eyes feeling like a thousand pounds, I tried to open them. A ringing sounded in my ears and I winced, but it soon faded away.

I wish it had stayed longer, because as soon as it died away I could hear that horrible tom's voice screaming at me and my family again.

" … Pebblepelt! It nearly drowned her! How could you allow it to live!?" He was yelling at my mother.

She scowled. " She's not an 'it'! She's my daughter and _your_ Clanmate!" She retorted angrily, shielding me.

I attempted to speak but she shushed me softly and licked my head. My eyes flitted around; I was in the Medicine Den with Redwing and Patchleaf inspecting me.

He growled angrily at her, and the surrounding cats began to take notice of the argument.

" That _thing's_ future is clouded from StarClan's eyes by a haze of red," He whispered so only Hayfur could hear. " _She must be killed_! If not by Mintstar, _then by me_!" He roared, shoving her aside and leaping at the Medicine Den. My Clanmates were yowling in alarm, and Mintstar sprinted down from her cave.

His jaws were right there, his fangs glistening in saliva, and I scrabbled to back away as Patchleaf rounded in front of me. Redwing was just unsheathing his claws when Smokefoot was suddenly jerked away by the neck.

_Honeytuft!_

The large golden tom hurled him back to the middle of camp, Smokefoot sliding about a foot then staggering, catching balance once again. He snarled, shaking his head, then raced towards my bracing stepfather. A flash of gray headbutted his side viciously, and he was thrown once more to his belly. Rowanfur nodded in thanks to Honeytuft, then they spread their paws into a fighting stance. Mintstar brushed past the circle of cats and trotted to Smokefoot.

" Smokefoot! What do you think you're doing? Attacking a Clanmate! A kit for StarClan's sake! What do you have to say for yourself befor-" She was cut off by the gray tom's paw crashing into her head, sending her spinning in a tumble of fur and dirt into a tree. With widened eyes the cats of LeafClan retreated for a second, then a few ran over to assist our dazed leader, including our deputy Pinefur.

I stared, shocked to the extreme, as the hissing tabby tom turned back to my fathers. Honeytuft leaped, landing on top of him and causing the opponent's knees to buckle. Wrestling for a minute, they paused, panting and glaring at each other as Rowanfur stalked up to him.

" You filthy traitor! How dare you attack my kit, and not to mention our Clan's leader, chosen by the spirits of our ancestors themselves!" Smokefoot replied with a silent glare, occasionally attempting to twist or jerk out of Honeytuft's grasp on his scruff. Narrowing his eyes at him for a moment, he turned his head to call, " Hey, is Mintstar okay? Does she need any help or anything?" Pinefur glanced at him, then did a double take as he noticed Smokefoot's muscles tense.

" _Watch out_!"

Lunging with his lips pulled back all the way to the gumline, he pushed off with such force he knocked Honeytuft off with patches of gray fur ripping off of his neck. I shrieked as he sunk his teeth far into my father's isthmus. Blood flowed down Smokefoot's chin, and he bit harder until my sire's body lost its spirit.

It was silent for what felt like a lifetime, but in that moment, I would've preferred silence over what I heard next.

" _**Rowanfur**_!" My mother's screech was loud enough to cause a few birds to startle and fly away in panic. Cats surged forward to pry Smokefoot's teeth out of my father's jugular, and he laughed as Mintstar staggered to haul herself up. I could just see my brothers out of the corner of my eye, jaws open in horror.

Spitting blood out of his mouth, Smokefoot set his wide stare upon me. " It's killed once; it'll kill again." He rasped, and Mintstar hissed in his face. His gaze turned to her and his grin fell into a frown of irritation.

" So have you." She growled, breathing deeply.

" Smokefoot, I hereby banish you from LeafClan, for reasons not needed to be explained. If any warrior ever finds you on our territory again, I'll give them full permission to attack and kill you. Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Her claws flexed, but her voice remained steady.

He spat at her.

Snarling, she shouted, " Scorchfeather, Larktail, Thornfur, escort him out of our territory!"

He snickered again as the three shouldered him towards the entrance, and it finally crashed down on me what had just taken place.

" It's killed once! It'll kill again! I know it! You can't change what has already been written! Save yourselves! The moon will rise red for the one they cannot see, for a terrible mist shrouds what is to come!"

" I'm not a killer! You killed my father! You killed him!" I cried out, running forwards out of the Medicine Den.

" You murdered my father!" Redwing grabbed my scuff and pulled me back, but I dug my claws into the ground and pushed forward.

" You're a murderer! My father's dead because of you!" He laughed as Patchleaf bounded forward with poppy seeds in his paw.

I yowled and tried to tear out of Redwing's firm grip, closing my mouth tight as Smokefoot's tail disappeared into the moss covering our camp from a low-hanging tree. Patchleaf forced open my mouth then shut it again, throwing the poppies in and dragging me back to the den as I attempted not to swallow. I cursed silently as one caught in my throat and I had to. The fight in me weakened as I began to feel sleepy, and I swatted at the air one more time before I passed out again. Just before my vision faded I could swear I could hear faint whispers inside my head, so soft I wondered if it was simply the breeze in the trees.

_You killed them… your fault… they loved you…_

_You killed them… murderer… _

_They loved you… murderer… murderer… murderer…_

_Murderer._


	5. Whispers in the Wind

I trudged through the forest, paws dragging. Pebblepelt glanced back at me but didn't say anything. It had been a week and a half since 'the incident', and it was my second time out. Last time, I'd had to have two escorts with me, Mintstar insisting it was 'simply an addition to the hunting patrol'.

Yeah right.

I knew they didn't trust me out, but Pebblepelt had argued with Mintstar about taking me only with her, saying that 'I needed some time out with as less cats as possible'. Eventually she'd agreed, and now here I was.

Avoiding the river, my mentor swerved to the left and I followed emotionlessly. After walking for a few more seconds, she stopped, scenting the air.

" There's a mole over that way… are you okay by yourself for a little bit? I won't take long, I promise." She asked me, turning. I brought my head up and nodded, a cool breeze flowing through the leaves in the trees. Dipping her head hastily in an 'okay', she quietly padded into the undergrowth, disappearing completely a few moments after.

Spotting a mouse to my left, I crouched slowly, gathering my haunches and narrowing my pupils, then pounced. A clean kill. Satisfied, I bounded back to my old spot and buried it. Sitting, I began to clean my dirty paws, as I'd accidentally stepped into a mud puddle from the light rain we'd had yesterday while not paying attention to where I was stepping.

_Empty inside…_

My head jerked up in alarm, eyes wide. Glancing around, I lowered it slightly, then continued cleaning myself, concluding it was simply the wind in the leaves like before.

_Dark soul… missing pieces…_

This time I was sure I'd heard the whispers. I leapt to my paws and growled.

_Intruder!_ I thought, rotating to scan the area fully. Confused, I sniffed the air for a scent, but nothing besides the usual forest smells and sounds met my senses.

_Red… __the only way!_

Two! I snarled, frustrated. Where were they coming from? Why were they saying these terrible things?

_Only way… __only way!__ Born of death… __death by blood!_

The first voice was soft, slower than the second, which was harsher as well, sometimes only repeating the first. Merely whispers, they angered her, as she could not always hear what exactly they were saying; They would be drowned out by the breeze or faded out at the end.

_Kill her! _

_Who? Pebblepelt?_

_Yes! __Yes! _

_No, I- who are you!?_

They snickered.

_Kill her… __enemy patrol! __They… ever know... __Nothing you could do! _

_Shut up! _I was beginning to get scared; They wouldn't go away.

_Easy… she trusts you… __throat exposed...__ Get her while her throat's exposed! _

_SHUT UP! I'm not a killer! _

_Can't change… already written! __Already written! _

I began to back up, unsure of what from, but they only got louder.

_The time is near... __Kill her now!_

" Moonpaw?"

I whipped around, gasping in shock.

" Moonpaw, are you okay?"

_Now! __Do it now! _

Now they were both whisper-yelling, and I shook my head hard.

" Yes… yes, I-I'm fine… just… just daydreaming." I breathed, and Pebblepelt sniffed me worriedly.

" Are you sure? You seem pretty shaken up."

I bowed my head, and she stood silently for a second before nudging me.

" Let's go back to camp. Don't forget your kill," She reminded me, and I looked back to the mouse still buried. Wiping off the dirt, I picked it up and followed her through the trees.

" Sorry I took so long," She mumbled through her mole, " I thought I'd spotted an enemy patrol getting too close to the border, but they were just remarking it."

I stared at her for a few moments, and I could hear faint murmurs and giggles in my head.

" Oh, yeah, that's okay."

I ignored the glance she gave me, pinning my ears back for a few seconds and wondering whether or not I should tell her about the voices. Deciding against it, my eyes flicked around nervously. I closed my eyes tight, trying to calm down, then exhaled gently, trotting along in silence.

_They'll go away… eventually._

The fear resurfaced as they snickered in amusement.

I bit down on my mouse and never once let myself drift more than a foot away from my mentor the rest of the way back.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Again, I'm so sorry for the shortness! This is just sort of like a filler chapter, I tried to make it as interesting as possible to make up for it. :3**


	6. Dangerous Thoughts

" Ugh…" I groggily opened my eyes, weary from the long day of hunting and patrols the day before. I'd been applying for extra duties lately, even offering to gather herbs for Redwing and Patchleaf, which they accepted gratefully. Mintstar had allowed me to join the dawn _and_ moonhigh patrol yesterday, thinking it was because I wanted to distract myself from the deaths of both my parents. While that was partly true, their deaths weren't the only things I wanted to distract myself from.

I had come to name the voices after a few days of knowing they were existent. They weren't really 'he's' or 'she's; just 'it's'. Quiet Chaos, the soft_er_-spoken and first to make itself known was named for its quiet voice, while Bonemaster was named for its constant talk of blood and death, and the harshness in its whispers. Of course, both of them loved to speak of murder and the thick liquid, but Bonemaster was just meaner and a lot more descriptive than Quiet Chaos.

At least they were remaining silent for once.

At night, they were especially loud in contrast to the gentle snores and breeze in the den, the afternoons were better however due to the noise of daily patrols and chatter. Dawn was sort of in the middle of it all; apprentices groaning at their mentors calling them for patrol duty and the raspy drawl of waking warriors partially covered the irritating and sometimes fear-inducing… _things_.

_Spirits,_ I decided. _Evil spirits from the Place of No Stars. That's the only answer; the only things they could be. Right? _

My mind was blank for a few moments, then drifted off to what I usually thought of when I didn't have anything to think about; my parents. My mother. What was she like? My father. Was he watching me from StarClan now?

I sighed softly through my nose. My heart ached whenever I thought of them. Why did they have to leave me?

_Kill them…_

I lost concentration as angry annoyance filled my thoughts.

_Great; it's you again, _I snapped, the hurt in my heart dissolving.

Bonemaster laughed erratically in the background.

_Empty… yes? You miss them…_

I bared my teeth.

_Shut up!_

_Kill them now! Now!_

_**Shut up**__, Bone!_

It took everything I had not to growl and wake up the rest of the apprentices, whose breaths were slowly becoming more rapid as they were drawn out of their dream state.

_The blood… fill your heart… no longer empty… __ No more hurt!_

My eyes narrowed and my breath caught in my throat.

_What? I told you- I'm __**fine**__! _

_You're a warrior… aren't you…?_

Red flags sprang up in my mind, but I ignored them.

_Technically, I'm an apprentice… _

_Warriors are meant to kill… correct…?_

My eyes went wide in shock and disbelief.

_Yes, but- not my own Clanmates! _

_Why not…? __Why not! __You see the way… stare at you… __Hatred in their gaze! _

The other apprentices were beginning to wake up, staring around drowsily. I flicked my tail in greeting as one nodded at me.

_See? They don't hate me. They're my friends!_

_You are blind… fake gestures… they don't trust you… __Fake trust! Kill them before they kill you!_

My ear flicked in frustration. They just wouldn't go away, and Bonemaster was so loud, even if it only spoke in whispers. Its voice was raspy, scratchy; it hurt my ears at times.

" Hey, Moonpaw," Timberpaw croaked, stretching her legs, " Wanna come hunting with me, Flowerstripe, Olivepatch and Gorsepaw?"

" Yeah, sure…" I flexed my own sore muscles as I heaved myself up.

" Do you think Mintstar'll let you come with us without Pebblepelt?"

Oh, right.

I'd forgotten about that.

" Oh…um, I'm sure she won't mind. After all, it's just a hunting trip. Y'all gonna do border patrol, too? Has the dawn patrol left yet?"

Timberpaw's eyes shone with mischief as she stalked out the den after me. " No, I don't think so. We might do that too." She searched around the clearing for Pinefur.

" Pinefur! Did the dawn patrol leave yet!?" After a 'no', she replied cheerily, " Me and my hunting patrol will re-mark the borders, kay!?" The light brown deputy nodded, then turned back to talking with one of the elders about snapping at the kits.

" Come on, let's go!" Timberpaw waved her tail at me, and I followed her and the group into the forest. It was a nice day; the birds chirping carelessly, a blue sky with fluffs of clouds here and there, the tree leaves green and healthy.

Gorsepaw, a stocky gray tabby tom with leaf-green eyes, caught sight of a squirrel while Timberpaw focused on a shrew.

" Moonpaw, wanna come mark the border with me?" Olivepatch whispered in my ear as he passed me silently, noticing I had nothing to do. I nodded as the others moved off to catch their kills, Flowerstripe staying behind to watch the apprentices. He flicked his tail, signaling for me to follow, then shook his paw as a sign to step carefully as to not disturb the prey.

At the border to our neighbors, MossClan, who lived a little below-to-next-to-us on the mountain, it was rocky as always, the cool pebbles rolling out of the way as I moved them with each step.

It was a short but steep drop to our right side; bigger rocks, pebbles, then pine trees nearly the rest of the way down. I tilted my head up a bit to see the rest of the mountain; StoneClan territory.

We, LeafClan, got the middle-to-the-bottom left side of the mountain all around to the boundaries of MossClan, who, at this angle, were a little below us, their territory stretching across the middle-to-bottom of the right side. They had more green on their turf than us, but we also had a considerable amount of it on ours. StoneClan, however, had little to none.

Lost in my thoughts, I slipped on some loose pebbles, causing me to fall nearly to the edge of our territory, over the slope. Front paws out in front of me, I peered over, eyes wide, and winced as I caught sight of the big, jagged rocks at the bottom.

_That's the second time my daydreaming nearly killed me! _

Of course, Bone and Quiet giggled at my ignorance as Olivepatch rushed carefully over.

" Hey; are you alright?"

_Push him…_

I cursed silently, closing my eyes for a few seconds in exasperation.

_Hi, Quiet… _I replied, mentally rolling my eyes.

_Push him over… slipped and fell… __no more hurt!_

I swallowed, then slowly stood and reassured him, " Yeah… I'm fine." Searching me for wounds, he circled me cautiously.

_No more hurt! Push him now! __Last chance… _

I felt a wave of nervousness as I turned it over in my mind. Would it really work? I'd never taken anything's life before, besides for hunting… did it feel good? It… it had to, that's why so many creatures killed, yes?

_Are… are you sure? _

_Yes… __do it! __Why would we… hurt you…? A youth that's lost so much… only deserves to be whole, yes…? _

I didn't answer. I suppose… I could try. Yes, it would be easy. Just a little nudge, he wouldn't even have time to react. Surely StarClan would forgive me; after all, they took away my parents, and it's only one life. Right?

As Olivepatch came back around the front of me, he asked, concerned, " Hey? You're being really quiet… are you sure you're okay? Do you need to go back?"

_There is no going back, silly Olivepatch. Only forwards… and a bit sideways. _

Our eyes caught, and worry flashed in his big green eyes. A growl threatening to escape my throat, I tensed. The adrenaline was just surfacing, my claws just unsheathing, when a loud crashing sound erupted from the bushes.

" Invasion! Rogues are attacking the camp! Hurry! _Invasion_!"


End file.
